I had the top replaced at about 10K miles or so. Now, with just under 18K, it is coming apart again in the same place. The first time it was replaced under warranty, and seeing as how this is the same problem, I see the dealer having to do it again. Anyone else have the same issue? I love this car. Other than this, no real problems that I would consider more than cosmetic (door handle replaced), but really don't want to keep it up at this pace, replacing the top every few months. I could see the top wearing if I drove with it up all the time, but I might have 300 miles with it up while driving. There has to be a way to keep it from wearing like this. Is there an actual cloth top out there being made for us?

 

Where is it coming apart? Any pics?

I've only got about 1400 miles on mine, so no problems with it yet.

 

The first time they replaced the top, did they use the "new" version of the top? You can tell by the stitching. There is a thread with pics somewhere illustrating the difference.

 

My old top and the new top are of the "new" type. It is coming apart at the same spot as my last one, where the seam going fore and aft meet with the seam just behind the rear top support bar.
I think I have found the reason for the separation though. When the top is down, the way the glass folds causes a bit more stress on the top material. Seeing as how I always drive with the top down, it sees more stress than most cars I see on the road. We'll see what happens at the dealer Monday.

 

Can you post a picture of the problem spot? If I'm not mistaken, most people here try our best to keep the top down. Mine is top down 90% of the time. I am concern about the same problem.
Did you get the extended warranty? I think it would cover you for 7 years. Need to read the fine prints.

 

Yes, I have the warranty up to 100K, but wear items such as the top are not included I believe. This would be covered as a manufacturing defect.
I also keep my top down as much as humanly possible. The only time it goes up is when I park it at work, because around a flightline, there are many things that could and would end up inside (not to mention birds). Here is a link to the other thread, and the pic there might give you a clue as to where it is coming apart. https://my350z.com/forum/350z-roadster/127090-top-needs-replacing.html

The sad thing is, I only had it replaced back at the end of June. I guess they will fix it until they get it right.

 

Crap! I just went out and looked at my top. My top was replaced a year ago and it appears to be "stressed" at the same seam you described. Its not bad yet, and it may have been like that the whole time and I just didn't notice. I wonder if there is anything we can do?

 

Unless it gets to the rainy season here, I'm not too terribly worried, just disappointed with the quality of the top. It simply comes down to poor design on this part. Had the top been made of actual cloth, they could have done a number of things, but a simple double stitch in that spot would have kept it from doing this. On my last vert (98 Chrysler Sebring), I only replaced the top because some punk decided to cut the top and attempt to break in (caught in the act by me). That was at 100K miles or so, and easily had another 50K+ in it, with not much fading due to sunlight (I parked it outside in Corpus Christi, Texas, pretty bad conditions for any car).
What can we do? Not much except for have them replace it time and time again. I think if they could put some sort of metal clamp in there at that seam that was thin but strong, it would solve this issue, and relieve the stress to the rest of the material. Maybe I can see what they will say about it.

 

Well guys, I went to check my top, sure enough, I have the same issue. Need to go talk to the dealer. Here is a picture.

 

Talk about color fade....

 

Actually, it's not color fade. It's a blue top. The picture was taken with a flash. Color-wise is still very new. The top is down most of the time and have not seen much sun at all.

 

That is exactly where mine is starting to come apart. I have one year left on the warranty, if something is going to happen, I hope it happends before then.

 

I must be overly sensitive, as I believe that the separation on my first top was less than half as long, and I got it replaced. The one now is about a fourth of yours, and yes, I'm talking to the dealer again. Catch it early, replace it ASAP.

 

Why would you say that? IMO there shouldn't be any rips in the top after a year. This will be the second time that I've had to replace the top. Once I am out of warranty I'm worried that this will be part of the cars annual maintenance.

 

Damn, I found a small tear too on my top about the same location as OHW. I had my car less than a year. Sucks if this is really a oem defect. $2k is too much money for dealers to charge for replacement if my warranty runs out.

 

If and when I can find a cloth replacement, that will be the one going on my car. IMO, a cloth top would look better, fit better, and would not be as prone to separation as this synthetic top does.

 

Damn...I found the same tear on my car as OHW. Sucks to know that even if they replace the top, problem will eventually come back.